Executive Director’s Message
Happy New Year! On behalf of the Corridor staff I wish all our Commissioners, partners and supporters the very best for 2008. We look forward to working with you to make this a productive year. There is a lot of work to be done and we will need each other more than ever to get it done. Federal funding has once again decreased and we are working with fewer staff. Yet, the demand for what the Corridor has to offer is as strong as ever, from leadership in advancing the bikeway, canal restoration and river access projects, to assisting communities with planning for sustainable growth; from supporting our tourism partners in the valley to providing education and technical assistance on projects ranging from historic preservation to storm water management.

The Corridor and National Park Service are not the only ones feeling the impacts from tough budget times. Most of our partners, state and local agencies, as well as non-profits, are struggling. We will need to pool our resources even better and come up with new creative ways to fund and execute our projects.

This year will be critical in the development of our strategy for how the Corridor organization will be structured and managed in the future. In that process, too, we will reach out to our partners, to help us evaluate what the needs and priorities are, what has worked well in the past, and how we can improve our performance and mutual support systems going forward.

Let’s use the challenges as opportunities to work together better than ever. Let’s re-energize!

Jan Reitsma
Executive Director

TOP

Scholars to Visit Blackstone Valley
For three days in February, the Blackstone Valley will be host to six experts in industrial history, economic history, cultural landscapes and architecture. Over the course of their visit, the scholars will tour the area, evaluate the Valley’s historical themes and help put the Valley’s resources in a national context. The scholars’ site visit – an important early step in the ongoing Blackstone River Valley Special Resource Study (SRS) – will conclude with a public meeting, where the scholars will share their findings. The public meeting will take place at Alternatives Unlimited, Inc. (50 Douglas Road, Whitinsville) on Saturday, February 16 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. Please join us!

The Blackstone River Valley SRS, which is being managed by staff from the National Park Service’s (NPS) Northeast Regional Office, will explore the potential for a permanent NPS presence in the Valley. Its focus will be on those sites and landscape features that contribute to the understanding of the Blackstone Valley as the birthplace of the American industrial revolution. The SRS will evaluate the significance of sites and landscape features in the Valley, assess whether their inclusion in the national park system would be suitable and feasible and, if so, investigate a range of management options. For more information, click here or contact Joanna Doherty, Community Planner at the Corridor Commission, at 401-762-0250 or e-mail us

TOP

A Goodbye Party for Liz McConnell
Please join us on March 6th to wish Liz McConnell all the best in her new position in Gunnison, Colorado. She’ll be leaving the Blackstone Valley soon and we would like you to join us thanking Liz for everything she has done for the National Heritage Corridor! We are gathering at 5:00 p.m. at the Brickhouse Bar & Grill at 2120 Diamond Hill Road, Woonsocket, RI. Cost per person is $15.00 and hor'douvers will be served. Send a check made out to the Blackstone Valley Corridor Commission at One Depot Square, Woonsocket, RI 02895 and RSVP to Barbara Dixon by March 1 at 401-762-0250.

TOP